AgWithAdam

In high school, competing in FFA contests was one of my favorite things to do. I’ll never forget waking up at 3 A.M. to travel four hours to a judging contest, refreshing JudgingCard.com every few seconds to see results, or the time my poultry judging team wore professional suits to the State Poultry CDE. When my high school FFA career ended, I was upset that my time as a competitive ag student had come to an end—or so I thought.

When I started my new life as a WIU Aggie, I discovered a club called Collegiate FFA (CFFA for short). Through CFFA, I was introduced to another organization called Professional Agricultural Students (PAS), which gave me the opportunity to continue competing in agricultural events—this time at the collegiate level! In February, I competed in the Prepared Public Speaking event at the state level and qualified to attend the National PAS Conference in Sheridan, Wyoming.

Competing at the national level in an agricultural contest had always been my dream. The 2025 National PAS Conference allowed me to network with individuals from across the nation, compete against the best of the best, and strengthen my skills as a public speaker by writing and delivering a six-minute speech on agricultural issues. I was thrilled to place sixth in the nation!

I may not remember every small detail of my trip to Wyoming, but I’ll always remember how it changed my life and reaffirmed my passion for agriculture. It was truly an opportunity well worth the drive.

As I near the end of my junior year of college, I’m already looking forward to competing again this fall for a chance to qualify for the 2026 National Conference in Branson, Missouri!